Don Jones

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Don Jones

372 articles published

3 min read

[UPDATED] Scripting Games 2013 Prize List

We’ve finalized the prizes! Overall Winners These are the folks who do the best overall. This prize will be awarded in mid-June. The overall winners from both the Advanced and Beginner events will win a free pass (travel expenses not included) to TechEd North America 2014 or TechEd Europe 2013 - your choice. We realize the TechEd Europe dates are pretty close to when this prize will be awarded… so we’ll try and intervene and make it a 2014 pass, if we can.

2 min read

Changes Coming to PowerShell.org

If you’ve been on the site today, you’ve doubtless noticed some of the visual changes. In addition to providing a simpler theme that - over time - will be more mobile-friendly, we’re also lining up for a major move of our discussion forums. That’ll probably happen after TechEd, but we may be able to squeeze it in prior. The existing forums are fine, but they’re a bit heavy in the code department, and hard to maintain.

1 min read

Scripting Games Instructions Now Available

I’ve posted an instruction booklet for the 2013 Scripting Games. Although you can’t register until April 22nd, you can get a sneak peek at what the new Games Web site looks like, and start preparing yourself to compete. READ THE FRIENDLY MANUAL. There are some one-time decisions you’ll have to make, and some “if you mess this up, you’re screwed” moments (like forgetting your password). It’s all on you - so familiarize yourself with the potential “gotchas” right away.

1 min read

[UPDATED] Time is running out to own a piece of PowerShell.org

Believe it or not, we are coming up on our one year anniversary, and will be winding down our capital campaign. If you’d like to become a stockholder in PowerShell.org, you will have until June 1st May 15 to do so. Read the details at https://powershell.org/discuss/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=239 if you’re interested! Updated to show May 15 as the cutoff date. Our shareholder meeting notices and ballots will go out on May 16, so we can’t accept new stock purchases after that date.

2 min read

2013 Scripting Games Judges

As described in the 2013 Scripting Games Competitors’ Guide, our expert judges this year will not be awarded numeric scores. Frankly, folks seem more interested in having their entries peer-reviewed than just getting a number - and why not? Expert review is a great way to learn! Unfortunately, there aren’t enough judges in the world to review all the entries we’ll receive, so our judges will be picking their own “best and worst” lists, and commenting on those (taking care to not reveal authors’ names, as much as possible).

3 min read

2013 Scripting Games' Mighty Panel of Celebrity Judges

As revealed in the 2013 Scripting Games Competitors’ Guide, the 2013 Games will invite the community in general to award numeric votes for entries. Our expert judges will instead focus on commentary, helping make the Games into an even better learning experience. They’ll be commenting without revealing competitors’ names, and even if you don’t recognize your entry in their comments, you’ll hopefully find plenty to learn from. Our top prizes, however, will be awarded by a Mighty Panel of Celebrity Judges.

1 min read

Coming: Tips for the Scripting Games

In preparation for the upcoming Scripting Games, the April 2013 issue of the free PowerShell.org TechLetter will feature tips, examples, and advice for helping you do the best in the Games! Remember that the Competitor Guide is now available, so you can start reviewing how the Games will be graded (by the community) and judged this year. If you’re not already receiving the TechLetter, [subscribe by April 15th][3] to receive the April issue in your Inbox!

2 min read

2013 Scripting Games Schedule

Registration for the 2013 Scripting Games will begin April 22nd (check this post in case we need to make a change to that). You will register for either the Beginner or Advanced track. Get the Beginner Track Practice Event Get the Advanced Track Practice Event Each event will kick off on a Thursday, which is when you will be able to download the event details in a PDF file. You will have until the end of the following Monday to upload your one and only entry.

1 min read

2013 Scripting Games Competitor Guide (for the Public, too!)

Our Competitor Guide is now online - you can download it here: 2013 Competitor Guide We’re doing things a bit differently this year. We’ll be engaging the overall PowerShell community for numeric grades - and those doing the grading have an awesome chance to win some great prizes! Our expert Judges will be focused on commentary, making this even more of a learning event. Download the Guide and see what’s in store - the Games are scheduled to start the week of April 22nd.

1 min read

Announcing Winter Scripting Camp Winners

I know, this took forever. Mea culpa. I’ve been working my shell off, and finally got around to pulling the info. Beginner Track Wouter Beens (4.667) Laurel Raven (4.5) Chris Davis (4.5) Advanced Track Alexander Kuzin (4.5) Lido Paglia (4.5) (anonymous) (4) Those are the average scores from those entries, and in case of a tie we broke it by submission timestamp. Things will be working a bit differently in the actual Games, coming your way in April, so stay tuned.